Kiddie flick a little too cutesy-wootsy

PHOTO/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Middle East expert Daniel Pipes in a scene from “2016: Obama’s America.” Despite the unconventional release of "2016: Obama’s America," the movie is among the most successful political documentaries of all time.

“The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure” G — At a regular showing of “The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure,” The Family Filmgoer noted at least one child of age 2 or 3 got up and danced when this film asked her to. That’s the demographic at which this aggressively cutesy, candy-colored film aims its garish charms.

It opened in theaters last weekend with such dismal box office totals they earned headlines, but creator and co-producer Kenn Viselman pronounced it good advance publicity for its video release, and sequels.

A magical tale in which live actors engage with huge puppets (perhaps operated by actors, too, inside all that colorful felt and padding — but hard to tell), the film feels endless at 88 minutes. It follows the adventures of Oogielove siblings Toofie (Malerie Grady), Zoozie (Stephanie Renz) and Goobie (Misty Miller), as they head out to retrieve the lost magic balloons for their friend Schluufy the Pillow’s (voice of Taras Los) birthday party.

The vacuum cleaner J. Edgar (Nick Drago) sends them off, with the help of Windy (Mia Elliott), a magical face in the window who helps locate where each of the balloons has gone.

At several junctures, kids in the audience are invited to stand up and dance to songs, then are told when it’s time to sit down. The film plays like a bad 1950s kids’ show.

THE BOTTOM LINE: There is nothing offensive or scary in this odd confection.

“2016: Obama’s America” PG — This film by conservative thinker Dinesh D’Souza, based on his articles and his 2010 book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage,” has made it into the box office top 10 in the last couple of weeks. It offers a hard-right take on President Barack Obama, from his childhood forward.

For high-schoolers and college-age kids interested in the coming election, the film offers a partisan jumping-off point from which they could do their own reading and research, perhaps starting with the president’s 1995 autobiography, “Dreams From My Father,” from which D’Souza quotes and interprets in his own way.

He also interviews fellow conservative scholars, Kenyan relatives of Obama’s, Kenyan friends of the father Obama barely knew, and former friends of his late mother’s.

D’Souza and co-director John Sullivan also weave in re-enactments of scenes from Obama’s life. These are common in “nonfiction” films today, but are a dubious tool when not clearly labeled. Then he concludes that Obama’s background has turned him into an “anti-colonial,” anti-American zealot who aims to reduce the United States to a more socialist, empireless equal among nations, and no longer a beacon of freedom and prosperity to the world.

Despite D’Souza’s mild-mannered style, his film comes quite close to calling the president a traitor.